Through the Woods
by OneterribleT
Summary: AU post 4x13. Beth Greene has lost everything and in the wreckage of her life, she finds herself. Warning: May be too violent for some
1. Chapter 1

**Prologue**

Her two small hands clung to the dirt and moss bracing her body as she shook with silent dry heaves. She had already vomited up her last meal, the mushroom soup chunks laying before her was evidence of that. Her body wasn't finished yet, the heaves continued to ripple through her, even though she was empty. She had been sick since she had escaped three days ago and now she wasn't even keeping water down. She was beginning to think she would die soon and the thought of death was becoming more appealing as time went by.

Finally her stomach stopped lurching and she allowed herself to collapse next to her puddle of mushroom soup and bile. She would just rest here for awhile, she told herself as she shut her eyes to the world around her giving herself over to oblivion. The girls tiny sleeping body was covered in a mixture of sweat, dirt, and gore. Each of her thin wrists were raw and caked with dry blood. Her pouty mouth was swollen and a yellow bruise had formed on the left corner of her lips. Her left eye was black. She had a series of shallow scraps and scratches on both her arms, neck, and cheeks. More lasting injuries were hidden beneath her clothes and skin.

Her sleep was not peaceful, but its grip on the girl was strong. Her deep slumber prevented her from hearing the stumbling and staggered approach of the walker. His one arm out stretched as he dragged his decaying legs towards her sleeping body. He had a gaping hole in his cheek that showed his snapping teeth as he anticipated his next meal. He moved steadily towards his meal, moaning and growling as he approached her.

With a loud snap of a twig, the girls good eye snapped open looking for the source of the sound. The walker lounged at her, covering her body with his, teeth snapping at her face. Her tiny hands struggled to keep his mouth off her, pushing up on the bottom of his chin. She grunted with the strain of his weight. She could feel her weakened arms wobbled as her snapped down at her. She knew she could not hold him off like this for long. She mustered all her energy and thrusted her hips out towards him and pushed his face off to the side. It worked, his body shifted off her and she was able to rolled away from him.

He lunged at her again, his one arm pulling her leg towards face. She screamed as she kick her legs widely in his direction. He had a strong hold of her right leg, so she kicked with her left hitting the walker square in the jaw, with a sickening snap and the walkers jaw disconnected from his face. She kicked his face again and again, his face turning turning to a dark bloody mush. Eventually his body went limp, but she continued to kick until she could no longer.

Her weakened body collapsed against the cold forrest floor once more, but she did not rest long. Spotting her bag and weapons, she crawled towards them. She stopped when she reached her knife, clutching it in her bloody hand. Holding it tightly she allowed herself to rest again, but not like before. She knew now she wanted to live, she would not give into the oblivion.

As she rested she recalled the questions.

How many walkers have you killed.

Nine te... Twenty

How many people have you killed?

Four

Why?

She recalled the events leading her to this point. She had lost her father, her sister, and her people. She had been taken from Daryl, her last friend. She had been locked in a cage. She had been raped.

"So I could live" she whispered to the forrest, in response to its silent questions.


	2. Ch1 - Putting it Away

Yellow light filtered through the dusty window illuminating Beth's face. She took a good look at her reflection in the broken bathroom mirror. Between the fractures, Beth noted how well her cuts and bruises had healed. Only her wrists now showed the evidence of her being attacked, wide jagged white scar encircled each where she had messily pull her hands free from her restraints. Beth also noticed the change in her wide blue eyes which were once youthful and bright, but now were found to be cold and bloodshot. Her eyes traveled down her reflection taking in her naked body. Her once pale skin was now tanned to a soft golden brown, in most places. Her thin frame had now filled out with muscular curves. Beth looked healthy and felt relatively healthy except for the lack of sleep.

Beth had not had a good nights sleep since the attack on the prison, even with Daryl by her side her dreams were full of terrors. Lately though the dreams had taken a whole new turn, becoming far too vividly violent and so real feeling that she found herself afraid of sleeping. Only when her body was to exhausted to fight it off did she allow herself to succumb to sleep. Always resulting in a full night of blood, guts and torture.

Even though she was often tired, Beth worked her body hard during training. Cardio and strength training sessions now were part of her daily routine. Her newly formed muscles were testament to the work she put in. She also spent hours practicing with the weapons she had found. The benefits of all could be both seen and felt. Beth's compound bow, her weapon of choice, no longer made her arms and back ache When she used it. As her upper body strengthen, her aim became more deadly. She could now hunt, utilizing the handful skills Daryl had taught her, she had found her own ways of silently stalking her prey. She had recently gotten so good at hunting with her bow that squirrels and rabbits were staples in her daily diet. After a hunt her mind would often drift to Daryl, she was pretty sure he would be impressed with ability to survive.

Beth leaned down, past the sink, to test the temperature of the bath water. Beth had spent the morning dragging water up from the well, boiling it on the hearth and carefully transporting the steaming liquid to the large claw foot bathtub. It had taken her ten trips with two buckets to fill the large metal tub and she was ready to reap the rewards of her labour. Beth had not had a bath since leaving the prison and there the water was always cold. Beth wasn't filthy, she cleaned herself daily using a cloth and a bar a soap, but her cleanliness was nothing remotely close to having a hot bath. This bath was a luxury that she felt she deserved.

Her first step into the hot water had warm tingles traveling up her leg and goose pimples forming on her skin. "Ahh" she exclaimed, as she slipped the rest of her naked body under the hot water; the startling burning pain giving way to pleasure. The heat of the water forced its way into her body, making her release all the tension she had been subconsciously holding. After resting for awhile she began to wash the grime from her body. She also shaved her legs and underarms and scrubbed her long dirty hair, relishing in the normalcy of the acts. She even smiled when she nicked the skin just above her ankle with the razor. Beth spent the better part of an hour in the bath and when she stepped out of the tub, she notice how grey the water had become. I should bathe more often, she thought as she stared at the dirty water. She let the water drip from her body as she walked back to the broken mirror, leaving small foot shaped puddles trailing behind her on the stone floor.

Her face was now fresh looking, her cheeks were slightly flushed and her long blond hair was clinging to her wet skin. She twirled a golden strand around one finger. It has to go, she thought as she continued to twirl her long tendril. She had many reasons for wanting to cut it off, one reason being that her hair was painfully pulled every time she took of her helmet and she was all too ready for that to stop.

Already resolved to do the deed, she clutched a small handful of her long blond strands with one hand and picked up a pair of old scissors in her other. With the first little snip the memories came flooding back to her.

Snip, and she back on the road in the middle of the night, running from the horde of walkers that attacked Daryl and her at the house. Suddenly out of nowhere her head was being covered with something and before she could even react several hands were grabbing at her. At first she thought the walkers had gotten her, but she did not feel any teeth tearing at her skin. "Daryl" Beth yelled and yelled as she bucked and twisted in her captors arms, but her voice was heavily muffled by the bag.

"Put her in the back" a gruff voice ordered.

"No, no, no" beth pleaded with her captors as she heard the opening of a trunk. She struggled harder as her body was lifted higher off the ground.

Snip, Beth was left naked from the waist down, laying in the bed. Her left eye was swollen shut and her arms were spread and cuffed to the bed posts behind her. How long had she been here like this, she tried to recall but all she could think of was him. His mouth, his hands, his body against hers. Her stomach churned, revolted at the thought of him.

Snip, the metal cuffs dug into her flesh as she struggled to pull her hands down and out of her restraints. The harder she pulled and wiggled her wrists the deeper the metal bit into her skin. She knew she did not have time to waste before someone would be back to check on her. With tears streaming from her eyes she pulled down hard with her right arm, ripping the top layers of flesh from her wrist exposing the warm red meat below. She bit into her lip hard to stop the moan of pain from escaping. She did not stop pulling though, despite the searing pain she felt radiating from her wrist, until she felt her fingers slipped easily from the cuff. Silently sobbing she turned to her left cuff then. She smeared her blood around her left wrist to act as lubricant before placing her right hand around the silver ring to stabilize it. Taking a deep shaky breath she violently ripped her left hand down and out, freeing herself fully from her restraints. Warm blood streamed from both her wounded wrists, covering her hands in the liquid. She stumbled towards the dresser, where she had earlier spotted her pants. Her ankle was still not healed and she still found it difficult to walk. She clumsily but quickly pulled her jeans on, still a bit delirious from the pain of her fresh wounds. Her knife was still in its sheath attached to her belt, she pulled it out and clung to the steel as best she could.

Snip, an older women entered Beth's room carrying a plate of food which she promptly dropped to the floor. Shock played on her face as she took in the sight of the empty blood splattered bed. The women motioned to call out for help, but before she could Beth stepped out from her hiding place behind the door and drove her knife straight into the side of the women's neck. The women fell hard grabbing desperately at her throat. She gurgled and moaned as she flailed, but no louder sounds could escape her. Dropping to her knees beside the women's squirming body Beth reached out and yanked the knife from the women's neck; blood pulsed out of the gaping laceration. Without missing a beat Beth plunged the knife into the women's skull, with both hands, stilling her for good.

Snip, Beth's bloody hands shook as she pointed the women's gun at him, but the memory of him pressing himself against her stilled them. He sat kneeing before her, his hands raised in protest, his lips moving, begging. Beth could hear nothing he said; she could only hear rapid beating of her own heart. His two accomplices laid dead between them. She had killed them both easily with a shot to the head, Rick had taught her well.

Snip, Beth watched as the blood started to trickle out of the two fresh holes in the man's chest. He lay on the ground before her, still alive but barely. She dragged his limp body towards the cage they had kept her in, his body so heavy, she fell twice.

Snip, Beth locked his dying body in the dirty rusting cage, knowing that he would never get out alive. This was not enough though, so Beth waited. She waited to watch as he died, she waited to watch as his lifeless body twitched back to life, she waited to watch as he fought with everything had to escape the prison around him.

Snip... Snip... Snip... She let the memories wash over her and through her and then let them fall away to floor along with hair. When she was finished her eyes were red, her cheeks were wet and her hair sat just above her chin in a jagged sort of bob.

"That will do pig" she said to herself satisfied with her new haircut. She quickly whipped the drying tears from her cheeks "that'll do."

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